# What Britishisms most baffle Americans? What Americanisms most baffle Brits? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 18, 2024, 8:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941 "2024-10-18T08:53:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 38
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2024, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/741 "2024-11-03T18:58:44Z")
Re: Salad cream. I am one of those people who cannot abide mayonnaise (or Miracle Whip) because of the mouth feel. I have no problem with the ingredients and the taste is pretty mild, but I just can’t stand the stuff. Salad cream doesn’t have the same issue. Maybe it’s because, as expressed above, it’s more vinegar-y and / or less oil-y, but for whatever reason, it crosses the inedible / edible barrier. ---
**Author:** ![Oswald\_Bastable](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oswald_bastable/32/214_2.png) [@Oswald\_Bastable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oswald_Bastable)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2024, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/742 "2024-11-03T19:17:31Z")
Also re: salad cream, if I had to describe it, I’d say its consistency is more like ketchup than mayonnaise - in fact, if you can imagine ketchup made with emulsified egg rather than tomato, you’d have a pretty good idea of what it’s like in both consistency and flavour. OB ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2024, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/743 "2024-11-03T20:42:57Z")
Agree - it is very much like non-tomato ketchup ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2024, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/744 "2024-11-03T21:04:56Z")
> [@jnglmassiv](#): > > I just love the idea of sausage tourism. Don’t forget to include my home county in the UK leg of your trip. This is what a sausage looks like in Cumbria. > **[Readers choose their favourite Cumbrian delicacies](https://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/19004663.cumberland-sausage-tatie-pot--readers-decide-favourite-cumbrian-delicacies/)** > > CUMBRIA is a county that is packed with an amazing choice of local food and drink specialities. But really I dropped by to note something rather curious. In Post 469 I observed > [@Treppenwitz](#): > > Aside: Saw British standup Nish Kumar last night. He (unironically) used the word “Gotten”. I thought of this thread. Well, we were out at another comedy show on Friday and the compere, one Ross Smith, also (unironically) used the word “Gotten”. I’m going to assume this isn’t something that is specific to stand-ups; but rather, these shows are the main place where I hear people much younger than me talk for a good length of time, and that in fact it’s just something that young people do these days. Interesting. j ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2024, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/745 "2024-11-03T21:21:27Z")
That reminds me - ‘sausage’ and ‘hamburger’ are two bits of mismatched terminology that sometimes cause a bit of confusion. In the UK, hamburger is only used to mean either the whole of a burger (i.e. the sandwich), or sometimes, just the patty, but never the uncooked meat ingredient before it is shaped into a patty. In the USA, I believe ‘hamburger’ can also refer to the ground meat ingredient. Similarly, ‘sausage’ in the UK means the finished product in the casing - ie ‘sausage links’ - not a common term in the UK - sausages are just sausages. We don’t use the term ‘sausage’ to refer to the unprepared ground meat ingredient - that’s called ‘sausagemeat’ - never just ‘sausage’. Also, whilst I have used the term ‘ground’ above, this is not a common descriptor here - we’d say ‘minced’ rather than ‘ground’ - and ‘mince’, without any qualifiers, usually refers to minced beef (except when it doesn’t - ‘mincemeat’ is a sweet mixture of dried fruits and suet, historically also including meat). ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2024, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/746 "2024-11-03T21:41:13Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > ‘sausage’ in the UK means the finished product in the casing - ie ‘sausage links’ Unless you go to Scotland where a sausage will probably be a square of sausage meat with no casing. Butchers originally created sausages, like many other manufactured meat products to use up leftover bits of meat and offal. ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2024, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/747 "2024-11-03T21:48:31Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > Unless you go to Scotland where a sausage will probably be a square of sausage meat with no casing. If we carry on like this, maybe we really can make sausage tourism into a thing. j ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2024, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/748 "2024-11-03T21:53:40Z")
Where do I sign up? ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2024, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/749 "2024-11-03T21:58:00Z")
_gay person not saying anything_ (Though that use of “sausage” may be specifically British.) ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2024, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/750 "2024-11-03T21:59:53Z")
_ **Carry On** _ era British English perhaps… j ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2024, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/751 "2024-11-03T22:01:12Z")
US ground hamburger is pure meat, possibly with added fat from an external source. Loose meat sausage almost certainly has added spices. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2024, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/752 "2024-11-03T22:17:47Z")
> [@Treppenwitz](#): > > If we carry on like this, maybe we really can make sausage tourism into a thing. We might could get together a sausage party. ---
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2024, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/753 "2024-11-03T23:05:03Z")
Also, hamburger is beef, whereas sausage is generally pork. ---
**Author:** ![fedman1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e495f1/32.png) [@fedman1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fedman1)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2024, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/754 "2024-11-03T23:51:03Z")
as an aside Matt Groening had cartoon rabbit by that named that ran in LA Reader ---
**Author:** ![eburacum45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eburacum45/32/8690_2.png) [@eburacum45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eburacum45)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2024, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/755 "2024-11-04T00:15:54Z")
A ‘binky’ is a common name for a little playful jump made by a rabbit. No idea if the word in this context is US or UK in origin. ---
**Author:** ![Paintcharge](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paintcharge/32/7946_2.png) [@Paintcharge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paintcharge)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2024, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/756 "2024-11-04T00:27:37Z")
Never heard of the rabbit jump. Don’t often see rabbits jump. I had some nesting in my rhubarb patch last year, but never saw them cavort. “Binky” in my experience, is used to describe something that brings comfort. The main one is what we 'mericans call a pacifier. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2024, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/757 "2024-11-04T00:51:31Z")
I’m not familiar with that usage but rabbits hop. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2024, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/758 "2024-11-04T01:17:01Z")
> [@Treppenwitz](#): > > Well, we were out at another comedy show on Friday and the compere, one Ross Smith, also (unironically) used the word “Gotten”. And what is this unironic use of a perfectly cromulent word? Or have I been whooshed by an inside joke I don’t understand? ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2024, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/759 "2024-11-04T01:40:14Z")
“Gotten” is an old British English word but faded out of use and hasn’t been part of British English for - I dunno - centuries? Comedians might use the word to make (ironic) fun of Americans, but that’s not what I’m seeing. Rather, the word seems to be being reintroduced into British English. As noted by @Mangetout upthread, it’s a useful reintroduction; I also like it. j ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2024, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941/760 "2024-11-04T01:48:13Z")
“I’ve gotten a new car” sounds like perfectly good (American) English to me. What am I missing? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941.md?page=37) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-britishisms-most-baffle-americans-what-americanisms-most-baffle-brits/1008941.md?page=39)